In Three Weeks
by COBbabygirl89
Summary: This is based on the true story of a priest who spoke at my school. Stacy asks House a jaw dropping question after being absent for 3 years.
1. Marry Me In Three Weeks

House was just sitting in his office one morning, deciding which case was interesting enough to take and wouldn't end up being some liar who just needed an antacid and a shrink. With the Macarena playing on his Ipod. He was staring intensely at the manila folders, the one brunette who made his heart feel like a moving van ran over it came into his office. Out of sheer embarrassment House quickly hit the pause button, but not before a short laugh from Stacy.

"Did I miss the dance?" she giggled.

"Oh well…I was--" he stammered.

"Just trying to find something to listen to?"

"Yeah." House said, just staring at his shoes. After a long awkward pause he began, "How have the last three years been?"

"Lonely." At that moment, just by coincidence Stacy tucked her hair behind her left ear.

"Your hand says otherwise." He pointed out, staring at the diamond on her finger.

"That's why I'm here." She explained.

"To ask for my blessing?" He quipped. "I don't think your fiancé needs the ex boy toy's approval. He'd probably prefer not to have it."

"I need you." She pleaded.

"Medical?" House questioned knowing full well an impromptu visit from Stacy would probably have little to do with medicine.

"Can we sit down?" She pleaded.

House obliged.

As Stacy started to speak, she removed her ring from her finger and set it on the table.

"Marry me and I won't marry Mark in three weeks."

House's face remained blank as he said…

Check out chapter 2

DUN DUN DUN


	2. Do You Expect Me To Answer That?

Chapter 2

"Do you expect me to answer that?" House questioned evenly.

"I know not to expect anything ordinary from you."

"Again, do you expect me to answer that?" He repeated sternly.

"I expect you to stop me because you love me."

"Does _he_ love you?"

"Yes, but I know you love me more."

"How do I know? I don't even know this guy. And I'd bet my medical degree you don't either." Feeling a little cornered, House got out of his chair and paced back and forth; like he does when trying to think of a diagnosis for one of his patients.

Getting very frustrated at House's cryptic avoidance of answering her question, Stacy said, "His name is Mark, okay. You happy?"

"No. How do I know if I love you more than he does? I could love you with everything I have, but he could have more."

"How could you possibly think he loves me more than you do?"

"So far I only know his name is Mark. That doesn't tell me how you feel about him or how he makes you feel." Pause. House saw Stacy's face full of uncertainty. "You don't even know how he makes you feel…do you?"

"I don't believe this." Stacy sighed heavily and muttered. "Greg, I have never seen you back down from anything. You never give up on a patient, but you'll give up on us?" She preached forcefully.

"I have been beaten and I know when I'm beaten. Remember Esther." House reminded.

"You still hang on to it, though." She clarified.

You could cut the tension with a razor blade. Stacy and House stood about 3 feet apart; it seemed like a safe distance.

With a rejected look in her eyes Stacy admitted, "You're not taking me back are you?"

"I can't. It's a fact that the relationship will turn out just like last time."

"Not if you marry me—which by the way you never even asked." She accused.

Crickets.

"So I guess I'm marrying Mark."

"Best Wishes. I'll send a gift." House offered, hating to see her in pain.

"You could just come, you know. All you'd need to do is wear a tie."

"Grooms are typically alive at their weddings, and if I come, it won't be a typical wedding."

Completely shot down by the love of her life, Stacy began to leave. She did a death march to the door until House's voice cut through the air saying, "You could just leave on your own."

"I don't want to be a runaway bride." She confessed, with one tear falling down her cheek.

After she disappeared from eyesight, House noticed a 1 1/4 carat, princess cut, diamond, engagement ring sitting on his glass desk.

Chapter 3 Coming Soon


	3. You Should Have Kept It

Chapter 3

House picked up the platinum set diamond and examined it closely. It had to cost at about three grand. Typically in etiquette books, the price of an engagement ring is supposed to cost the buyer one month's salary. From this House deduced that Stacy was marrying a typical middle class guy. The kind of guy she never seemed to take a shining to.

Stacy was a lawyer; a constitutional lawyer. She was paid a large amount of dough to protect people. House wondered more about the person Stacy put in his place. At the same time he knew that nothing could make him and Stacy work.

Even though he could be an ass, only an asshole wouldn't return a pretty woman's lost engagement ring. And he wasn't an asshole, just an ass to his employees and his boss.

Although she was already gone and he couldn't give the ring back today, he knew that she wouldn't never move out of treasured little country home just outside Princeton.

(AN: I know Stacy and Mark lived in Short Hills, but just go with this okay.)

The next morning, House went to, not her home, but the Wawa a quarter of a mile from her home. The entire time they were together, Stacy got her coffee at 7:35 every morning, always two milks, no sugar.

He waited by the coffee pots at 7:30, just to make sure he didn't miss her. He had a cup already made for her. Like clockwork, she strolled and waltzed over to the java. As soon as she saw him, a look of rage passed over her face. He hoped that she would just slap him across the arm like she always did and not go for the face.

With no corporal action she, in a very pissed off tone, asked, "Do you have something that belongs to me?"

"I assume you are look for this." House said as he pulled the ring out of his jacket pocket.

"You couldn't have reminded me to get it before I left yesterday?" She whispered angrily so no one would hear her.

"You were gone by the time I noticed it. You know I'm not very good at catching up with people way ahead of me." He tried to lighten the mood.

"You're good at yelling. You could've yelled down the hall for me."

"It's a hospital, people were sleeping." He tried to make an excuse for why he didn't think of that.

"Bullshit. You wanted to keep it so you could torture me about it."

"I got it back to you ASAP didn't I? If I really wanted to torture you I could have just kept it a week or two or sold it on ebay. A couple extra thousand in the bank account could never hurt."

"Yeah, well, the twenty-four hours you did have it were twenty-four hours of hell for me and twenty-four hours of praying Mark didn't see it." Her face became red.

"I am guessing by your face resembling a Jersey tomato, he noticed."

"Yep. I had to lie and say I thought I left it in my desk at work. Which led to a question of why I took it off, which led to another lie of my finger being itchy, which led to the deep concern from him thinking I had a rash." She rambled.

"I got it back to you. You can let that lie rest and show Matt—"

"—Mark—"

"Mark, that your ring is not lost." House began to walk out of the store and to his car.

Stacy followed. When they both arrived at his car, House said, "I'm going to work, so should you."

As House began to get in Stacy blurted out, "You should have kept it."

"What?"

"You should have played your sick, bastardly game and kept the thing."

"I assume a very strange reason is coming."

"He might have dumped me. He might have thought I was cheating and I could have gotten out of this mess."

"You got yourself in, you get yourself out. I am not a part of this equation." House got in his car and drove away.

I've got a huge writer's block. Suggestions are welcome! Sorry this took so long. I'm moving and life is crazy.


End file.
